Delta Honors Veterans With $350,000 Fisher House Gift And Airport Celebration In D.C.

Airline salutes service members with Boeing 757 christened the "Spirit of Freedom"

Delta's Veterans Employee Network collected letters and coordinated care packages for service members stationed abroad through a partnership with The Coca-Cola Company and the USO. Delta flight attendants also collected more than 3,000 thank you letters to send to those serving our country this Thanksgiving.

Delta and the U.S. Armed Forces

Delta's commitment to military service members extends year-round across the travel experience and includes:

Volunteer efforts at USO lounges across the U.S., including contributing to the establishment of a permanent USO lounge in Detroit Metropolitan Airport's McNamara Terminal;

Operating more than 2,000 military charter flights in 2012;

Donating millions of miles to military support organizations like the Fisher House Foundation and USO;

Recognizing military members in uniform by providing First Class and BusinessElite® upgrades when seats are available, as well as priority boarding and complimentary Delta Sky Club access nationwide;

The Delta Honor Guard, an employee-led group at more than a dozen U.S. airports that administers flag ceremonies and uses specially themed patriotic ground equipment to transport fallen heroes returning home; and

A pledge to hire more veterans by 2020 as part of its participation in the 100,000 Jobs Mission.

In July, Delta accepted the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award for exceptional support of Guard and Reserve employees. Delta is the first airline to receive the honor in a decade.

About Fisher House Foundation

Fisher House Foundation is best known for the network of comfort homes built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. The Fisher Houses are 5,000 to 16,800 square-foot homes, donated to the military and Department of Veterans Affairs, where families can stay while a loved one is receiving treatment. Additionally, the Foundation ensures that families of service men and women wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan are not burdened with unnecessary expense during a time of crisis.

Located in close proximity to the medical center or hospital it serves, each Fisher House consists of between 8 and 21 suites, with private bedrooms and baths. Families share a common kitchen, laundry facilities, spacious dining room and an inviting living room with a library and toys for children. Fisher House Foundation ensures that there is no fee to stay in a Fisher House. Since inception, the program has saved military and veteran families an estimated $192 million in out of pocket costs for lodging and transportation.

Fisher House Foundation operates the Hero Miles Program, using donated frequent flyer miles to bring family members to the bedside of injured service members as well as the Hotels for Heroes program using donated hotel points to allow family members to stay at hotels near medical centers without charge. The Foundation also manages a grant program that supports other military charities and scholarship funds for military children, spouses and children of fallen and disabled veterans.